As of Saturday morning, more than 1 million utility customers in South Carolina are without power, according to poweroutage.us. More than 775,000 are without power in Georgia, and more than 717,000 in North Carolina.
Florida’s power outage numbers are down to nearly 470,000, from a high of more than 1.2 million on Friday.
Ohio has more than 208,000 outages, Virginia has nearly 200,000, and Kentucky has more than 135,000. More than 67,000 in West Virginia, and more than 61,000 in both Tennessee and Indiana are also without power, as of 9:30 a.m.
The current death toll includes people in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Western North Carolina remains essentially cut off after Helene brought catastrophic rainfall to the southern Appalachian mountains. Multiple areas of I-40 and I-26 remain impassable after landslides washed out roads and hit homes.
“All roads in Western North Carolina should be considered closed,” the state’s Department of Transportation announced on its website. “Motorists should not travel in this area, should not attempt to drive through standing water, and must respect barricades and road closure signs.”
Ryan Cole, the emergency services assistant director in Buncombe County, North Carolina, said that more than 3,300 calls were made to his 911 center in the span of eight hours on Sept. 27.
Authorities from Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas are expecting historic levels of damage from Hurricane Helene.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rescue operations continued in several locations as people became trapped by rising floodwaters, and millions were without power across multiple states.
Some hospitals in southern Georgia lost power because of the storm. Gov. Brian Kemp said rescuers used chainsaws to clear debris and open up roads.
Helene, which was downgraded from a Category 4 hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone as it moved inland, reached maximum sustained winds of 140 mph when it made landfall late Thursday in Florida’s rural Big Bend area. The area is home to fishing villages and vacation homes.
Property damage has been estimated to be between $15 billion to $26 billion, according to Moody’s Analytics.
The destruction extended hundreds of miles northward to Tennessee, where more than 50 people stranded by floodwaters were rescued from a hospital in Nashville, according to a local alderman.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
An hour before the retraction, Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis had ordered downtown Newport evacuated, citing a “catastrophic failure” in the dam.
Despite the retraction, officials at the city of Newport are asking residents to remain sheltered, and have opened Parrottsville Elementary School as a refuge for those who are stranded.
The storm was a Category 4 hurricane as it tore through Florida on Thursday night, and as of 5 p.m. ET, it had reached southeast Louisville, Kentucky.
Although the storm has been downgraded, the NHC warned that heavy rains, flash flooding, and major landslides remain a risk.
The NHC also cautioned residents to beware of downed power lines and to use ventilation near power generators to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
Officials warned at a press conference on Friday that restoring power may be a lengthy process, noting that in some places, workers are forced to cut through debris.
“Life’s not going to be back to normal until probably the middle of next week,” said Keller Kissam, president of Dominion Energy South Carolina.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said the number of outages was unusually high and urged residents in the area to be patient while the state worked to restore services.
“It takes time,” the governor said.
Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis took to social media to warn that the dam has experienced a “catastrophic failure,” ordering residents in downtown Newport to flee immediately.
Earlier on Friday, he had warned residents to move to higher ground if they were near French Broad or Pigeon Rivers.
Gov. Brian Kemp says residents in the area should evacuate now, if possible. The release will not flood homes but will likely make roads and bridges in the area inaccessible “for at least a day or multiple hours,” Kemp said at a press conference.
The water release is necessary to prevent the dam from failing. The National Weather Service warned earlier today that North Carolina’s Lake Lure dam is in imminent danger of failing.
South Carolina has reported 17 deaths, two as a result of trees crashing into homes.
In Georgia, where the hurricane has been downgraded to a tropical storm, Gov. Brian Kemp said that at least 11 people have died.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said two deaths have been confirmed but that he expects there will be more. He warned residents to avoid mountains and foothills due to the danger of landslides.
Five residents of Florida have also died after being warned to evacuate but choosing to shelter in place.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cooper urged residents to shelter in place unless seeking higher ground. Rains are expected to continue for the next 24 hours, he said, but flooding will continue through the weekend.
The governor said the storm systems had resulted in 290 closed roads in western North Carolina and warned residents to use caution in avoiding flooded areas.
“Turn around, don’t drown,” Cooper said at a press conference.
More than 50,000 utility personnel from 27 states are being sent to the affected areas, according to FEMA.
The American Red Cross has 143 shelters holding 9,400 evacuees from Florida to North Carolina, said Jennifer Pipa, the organization’s vice president of disaster programs.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued an urgent flash flood emergency warning that a North Carolina dam is at imminent risk of failure as Tropical Storm Helene dumped heavy rainfall on the region. Officials later on Friday said that the dam is holding for now.
“Urgent: flash flood emergency for the Lake Lure Dam! Dam failure imminent! Rsidents [sic] below the dam need to evacuate to higher ground immediately,” NWS’s office in Greenville and Spartanburg, South Carolina, wrote in an all-caps message on social media.
By Friday afternoon, officials said that dam’s wall is holding, but they warned that the Broad River is overtopping its boundaries and support structures are compromised.
“Evacuation sirens are sounding downstream of the Dam,” the Rutherford County Emergency Management agent wrote on Facebook. “Emergency personnel are working with the structural engineers and are going house to house to ensure all citizens have been evacuated.”
Signs next to Broad River in Lake Lure, N.C., in August 2023. (Google Street View/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)
Lake Lure, located in Rutherford County, is one of many areas across western North Carolina that have received several inches of rain since Helene, which was downgraded from a Category 4 hurricane after hitting Florida on Thursday night, impacted the region.
Helene is forecast to dump several more inches of rain across North Carolina and other southeastern U.S. states in the coming days, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). A forecast updated by the NHC on Friday at around noon shows that several inches of rain is still expected in western North Carolina, namely in the Appalachian Mountain regions of the state.
“Over portions of the Central and Southern Appalachians, Helene is expected to produce additional rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches leading to total rain accumulations of 6 to 12 inches, with isolated totals around 20 inches,” the NHC said.
“This rainfall will result in catastrophic and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with significant and record river flooding. Numerous significant landslides are expected in steep terrain across the Southern Appalachians.”
Earlier, the Rutherford Emergency Management Agency, in a social media post on Friday, told residents who live on certain roads in the area to evacuate to higher ground due to water overtopping the Lake Lure Dam.
It came after the county agency confirmed that “catastrophic flows along the Broad River into Lake Lure” were overtopping the Lake Lure Dam, resulting in significant flooding downstream, according to the NWS.
“Evacuations are underway downstream of Lake Lure Dam. Residents are urged to seek higher ground NOW and obey all evacuation orders from Rutherford County Emergency Management to protect your life and the lives of your family,” the weather agency wrote.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said in a briefing on Friday morning that there had been two storm-related deaths in the state and he expected more to come.
Close to 300 roads were closed and over 100 swift-water rescues had occurred so far, Cooper said. He added that the storm, particularly in western North Carolina, is causing life-threatening flash flooding, numerous landslides, and power outages from downed trees.
“The priority now is saving lives,” Cooper said, telling people to stay off the roads unless they were seeking higher ground.
“With the rain that they already had been experiencing before Helene’s arrival, this is one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of western North Carolina,” Cooper said.
Portions of Interstates 40 and 26 were closed due to flooding, officials said.
In all, officials across several states say that at least 22 people have died across the United States due to Helene, which made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on Thursday night. The storm appears to have left more than 5 million people without power, according to Poweroutage.us
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
“This has been a deadly storm,” the governor said at a press briefing. He said that a first responder was among those to have died.
Georgia experienced wind gusts of more than 90 mph during the morning of Sept. 27, he said.
In the town of Valdosta, 115 structures were heavily damaged, with people trapped inside, according to Kemp.
There are multiple road closures, he said.
“I've approved emergency requests in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and deployed 1,500 response personnel—my Administration stands ready to provide more support as needed,” Biden wrote in a post on X.
“As we mourn the lives of those who were taken by this storm, I urge folks to heed the direction of local officials and take every precaution to keep themselves and their families safe.”
While Hurricane Helene was making landfall in the Big Bend, its tail bands threw wind and seawater onto Florida’s Gulf Coast to catastrophic effect.
The Category 4 hurricane hit Florida on Sept. 26 with maximum winds of 140 mph. Almost 4 million homes are without power in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Six people have died in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
Long-time residents of the Sunset Park neighborhood in South Tampa told The Epoch Times it was the worst flooding in more than 30 years.
Docks and boats were battered or lost. Seawalls that withstood the brunt of Hurricane Idalia a year ago were consumed by the surge.
Homes on and off the water had various levels of flooding depending on how high they were built up.
Signs of as much as five feet of water could be seen on the outside walls of some homes. Other houses built higher up had damaged garages.
Flooding was first confirmed in the early afternoon of Sept. 26. By 11 p.m. the streets were completely impassable under multiple feet of water.
The same situation applied to other areas of Tampa. Downtown and Davis Islands also reported disastrous flooding.
Much of the water receded by sunrise on Sept. 27, and residents were seen either emerging from their homes or returning by car.
Debris and drowned belongings are beginning to accumulate in driveways and curbs.
Nevertheless, when asked “Are you all okay?” residents almost always reply, “Yes.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
She flew alongside the Tampa Bay Police Department. The footage shows widespread flooding.
“We’re seeing extensive damage on Davis Islands and waterfront areas. The National Guard has activated to help with rescue efforts,” Castor wrote.
The death was in Dixie County, in the northern part of the Sunshine State.
“I pray that’s it,” said DeSantis at a press conference. “But I also know these were very hazardous conditions.”
“To have something that was even bigger than those two storms causing a lot of damage, I think it’s a sense of trauma for the community,” he added, referring to Hurricanes Idalia and Debby in August 2023 and this past August, respectively.
“It’s demoralizing because, it’s like, we worked on this, and now we could be potentially worse off than we were before.”
Helene, which has now weakened to a tropical storm, made landfall on the west coast of Florida and then passed north into Georgia, where it is currently located.
DeSantis said parts of Florida had seen a “historic storm surge” and that more than 1.2 million people were without power on Friday morning.
The governor praised first responders, who he said had saved many lives by rescuing people affected by the storm.
DeSantis said 129 inspectors went out at first light to assess bridges and that Tampa International, Tallahassee, Gainesville, and St. Pete-Clearwater airports were all currently closed but were due to resume flights later on Friday.
At 8:00 a.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) published an update, warning that a flash flood emergency was in effect for metropolitan Atlanta.
The NHC said Tropical Storm Helene was 80 miles east northeast of Atlanta and was producing “damaging gusty winds and life-threatening flooding” over parts of the southeast and southern Appalachians.
The NHC said maximum sustained winds were now 60 mph, down from 140 mph when Helene first made landfall in Florida on Thursday night.
They say 1.2 million customers in Florida are without power, 900,000 in Georgia, 697,000 in South Carolina, 237,000 in North Carolina, and 11,000 in Virginia.
Insurance broker Gallagher Re said preliminary private insurance losses could be as high as $6 billion, with losses to federal insurance programs adding up to $1 billion.
The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Deanne Criswell, said she would travel to Florida on Friday to assess the damage.
Helene is the third storm to strike Valdosta in just over a year, following Hurricane Idalia in Aug. 2023 and Tropical Storm Debby in Aug. 2024.
Fermin Herrera, 20, his wife, and their 2-month-old daughter told The Associated Press they took shelter in the lobby of a hotel in Valdosta because of fears trees might fall on their home.
Herrera said, “I feel like a lot of us know what to do now. We’ve seen some storms and grown some thicker skins.”
One person was killed in Florida when a sign fell on their car, and two people were killed by a tornado in Georgia.
At 5:00 a.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said the eye of Hurricane Helene was 100 miles southeast of Atlanta, and 40 miles east of Macon, Ga. but it had been downgraded to a tropical storm.
It said the maximum sustained winds had decreased to 70 mph, with stronger gusts.
The NHC said, “Continued weakening is expected, and Helene is expected to become a post-tropical low this afternoon or tonight.”
PowerOutage.us said 1.2 million customers in Florida were without power, 735,000 in Georgia, 363,000 in South Carolina, and 87,000 in North Carolina.
The Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, has written on X: “Marty, the girls, and I are saddened to learn of the loss of two lives in Wheeler County this evening. As we join their families in mourning their deaths, we urge all Georgians to brace for further impact from Helene, remain vigilant, and pray for all those affected.”
Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center reports Hurricane Helene has crossed into Georgia, and at 2:00 a.m. ET. was 30 miles north of Valdosta, Ga.
They said the hurricane was weakening but a life-threatening storm surge, winds, and heavy rains were continuing.
Hurricane Helene is expected to head towards Atlanta and northern Georgia Friday morning.
After that, Helene is expected to turn northwestward and slow down over the Tennessee Valley going into Saturday.
Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina are also impacted, with 126,220 customers out in Georgia, 16,072 in South Carolina, and 14,262 in North Carolina as of 1:15 a.m. ET.
The eye crossed the coastline just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River, located about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry, Florida.
Hurricane Helene brings life-threatening winds and storm surge, the National Hurricane Center warned in its latest public advisory at 11 p.m. ET.
The system brought with it maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and a central pressure of 938 mb, as recorded by Air Force reconnaissance aircraft, the NHC said.
The storm is currently moving north-northeast at 24 mph, with areas north of Cedar Key and southeast of Tallahassee feeling the full force of its impact.
Emergency officials are urging residents in the affected regions to shelter in place, with damaging winds, storm surges, and heavy rainfall expected to continue.
The governor said a sign fell and struck a car on Interstate 4 near Ybor City in the Tampa area, resulting in the fatality.
“So that just shows you that it’s very dangerous conditions out there,” DeSantis said. “You need to be, right now, just hunkering down. Now is not the time to be going out.”
Further details on the incident or the identity of the person who died have not been released.
As of the latest update, nearly 700,000 households are experiencing an outage, according to reports from local electric providers.
Outages are increasing amid ongoing efforts to restore power following widespread disruptions.
Major providers, including Duke Energy and Florida Power & Light Company, are among the most affected, with thousands of customers awaiting service restoration.
Duke Energy reported that as of 10 p.m. ET, more than 290,000 customers were without power, according to PowerOutage.us. The company had earlier said that its crews had restored power to nearly 42,000. The company tracks about 2 million customers.
Nearly 200,000 customers with Florida Power & Light Company are without power as of 10 p.m., according to the power outage tracking website. The company has said its crews ”are working around the clock” to get power restored to customers.
“We have personnel dedicated to restoring power, and we will not stop until everyone gets power back,” Florida Power & Light Company said in a post on X at around 9 p.m.
Authorities in Florida warned residents at around 9 p.m. to “take cover now” and shelter in a reinforced interior room as the storm bears down.
“Hurricane #Helene is approaching landfall in the Big Bend. Treat these imminent extreme winds as if they were a tornado!” Florida Division of Emergency Management said on X.
“In the case like St George Island, I think they've identified 70 people that refuse to leave, and this is going to be one of the hardest hit places, and unfortunately, that stubbornness is going to lead to some number of loss of life,” he told The Epoch Times.
“It's going to be unfortunate.”
Hurricane Helene is expected to make landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, specifically around Taylor, Wakulla, and Jefferson counties.
Helene will bring winds of up to 130 mph and catastrophic storm surge reaching 15 to 20 feet.
Helicopter crews are standing by to go out to the barrier island as soon as possible to assist those people.
However, Patronis said, “It's going to be hard for a storm of this strength not to cause some type of potential fatalities, especially if you're in a low lying area.”
Patronis said people don't evacuate for several reasons, including pets, medical needs, or other responsibilities. He stressed the importance of creating an incentive to get people out.
“This is why we do special needs shelters that provide oxygen, medication, nurses,” he said.
“This is why we do pet shelters, because people won't leave their pets. So we have had to create, you know, these special needs shelters in order to get people to leave from their low lying area, to stay somewhere safe.”
He also warned about a level of “complacency” that people can develop after surviving past storms like Hurricane Idalia or even Hurricane Michael.
“Those individuals that stayed during those storms, complacency will set in,” he said.
“So they'll think, ‘well, gosh, I stayed for Debbie, and it wasn't a big deal. I stayed for Idalia, and it was fine.’
"This storm is different," he said. "It's going to hit fast.”
He said Hurricane Helene will be moving at about 24 miles per hour and will leave Florida quickly, but the wind will be " ferocious."
"There's going to be damage."
The National Hurricane Center said “It seems likely that Helene will be at or very near Category 4 strength when it makes landfall.”
As of 8 p.m. ET, Helene still had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. Its center was tagged just 80 miles west-southwest of Cedar Key and 115 miles south of Tallahassee.
Hurricane-force winds (74 mph or greater) extend 60 miles out from the storm center, and tropical storm-force winds (39–73 mph) extend 310 miles out from its center.
Helene is currently moving north-northeast at 23 mph. After landfall, it is expected to charge through Georgia and maintain a Category 2 status, with winds exceeding 100 mph, into the early morning hours of Sept. 27.
The National Hurricane Center announced, "A NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft currently investigating Helene recently found that the maximum sustained winds have increased to 130 mph.”
At this time, the storm’s center is 120 miles west of Tampa, and 165 miles south of Tallahassee. It is pushing toward the Big Bend region of Florida’s Panhandle at 23 mph.
Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis said landfall is expected around 11 p.m. ET tonight.
“The President and I, of course, are monitoring the case and the situation closely, and we urge everyone who is watching at this very moment to take this storm very seriously and please follow the guidance of your local officials,” said Harris.
"I've directed FEMA to work with the state partners to take proactive measures to ensure the communities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and other states have to support the resources they need,” Biden said.
He added that more than 1,000 federal personnel have been deployed to the affected areas. They include search-and-rescue teams, power restoration teams, and medical teams, as well as food and water.
"Let me say this, everyone needs to take it seriously—extremely seriously,” Biden said. “The potential storm surges well beyond the immediate path of the hurricane could be significant and deadly."
The National Hurricane Center announced Helene had sustained winds of 125 mph 175 miles south of Tallahassee and 130 miles west of Tampa, as of 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 26. Hurricane-force winds were recorded 60 miles out from its center and Tropical storm force winds extend out 310 miles.
A Category 4 hurricane has winds of at least 130 mph.
“Helene is a very dangerous and large major hurricane,” the National Hurricane Center announced. “Damaging hurricane winds and catastrophic storm surge [is] expected to begin in the Florida Big Bend this evening.”
A weather station in Venice, Florida, recorded sustained winds of 51 mph and graphics from the National Hurricane Center show nearly the entirety of the Sunshine State sat under tropical storm conditions.
The National Hurricane Center is also anticipating Helene to enter southern Georgia after midnight as a Category 2 hurricane with winds more than 100 mph.
As of 1:30 p.m. ET, the governor said the storm will hit South Georgia as early as sunset tonight through sunrise tomorrow morning. Middle Georgia will be hit roughly between 10 p.m. tonight and 10 a.m. tomorrow, and then North Georgia will start to be affected around midnight through noon.
Hurricane-force winds and wind gusts of 80–100 mph are expected, and the risk of tornadoes forming is also a concern.
"It doesn't really matter what category this storm is," he said. "It's one of the biggest that we've ever seen in the Atlantic, from a size perspective on the width of it over around 500 miles wide. So it's going to affect a large area as it comes across Florida into Georgia.
"We believe it can remain at hurricane strength as it moves up through Macon and possibly into Metro Atlanta.”
Another major concern is the amount of downed trees from the winds, which can cause power outages, make roads impassable, and damage homes.
Resources activated by the emergency declaration include 250 National Guard soldiers, 10,000 linemen, and 10 chainsaw crews from the Georgia Forestry Commission.
No shelters were filled across the state, but the governor said 215 evacuees from Florida were being housed in Georgia’s state parks.
"This is an unusually dangerous storm that threatens to bring heavy rain and potentially catastrophic flooding tonight and tomorrow for Central and particularly Western North Carolina," he said. "When tropical weather crosses into our mountains, it can be deadly."
Tropical storm conditions could also appear in Charlotte, he added.
Cooper recalled tropical storm Fred, which brought fatal rains and flooding to his state’s mountainous regions in 2021, and told residents that it "can happen again."
He also said this comes right after the unnamed Potential Tropical Cyclone 8 hit Brunswick County and as assessments from Hurricane Debby are still underway.
Emergency Management Director William Ray said that North Carolina should expect 14 to 20 inches of rain, and "the primary threats to our state include heavy rainfall, life-threatening, flash flooding, damaging landslides, debris flows and river flooding."
Ray said 18 local states of emergency had been declared on the western edge of the state, and President Joe Biden accepted Cooper’s pre-fall disaster declaration.
Several emergency response resources have been activated, including 16 swift water rescue teams and 175 soldiers and airmen from the North Carolina National Guard.
The outer bands of Helene are already affecting the mountainous region, and more than 15,000 are already without power. Authorities expect the weather and the number of power outages to intensify.
"We have to be clear here,” said Ray. "Heavy rains and winds are coming. Beware and prepare."
Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm, is projected to slam Florida’s northwestern coast on the evening of Sept. 26. It is also forecast to bring heavy rains across much of the southern United States over the coming weekend.
A map from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) on Sept. 26 shows Hurricane Helene hitting the Florida Panhandle, with the state’s capital Tallahassee being at or near the center of the storm’s forecasted path. The storm is expected to strengthen further before making landfall, according to the NHC.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned on social media that a “catastrophic and deadly storm surge is likely along portions of the Florida Big Bend coast, where inundation could reach as high as 20 feet above ground level, along with destructive waves.”
“There is also a danger of life-threatening storm surge along the remainder of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula,” the service stated. “Residents in those areas should follow advice given by local officials and evacuate if told to do so.”
Multiple Impacts in Several States
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell warned that Hurricane Helene would impact regions from Florida to Tennessee.“This is going to be a multi-state event with the potential for significant impacts from Florida all the way to Tennessee,” Criswell said at a White House press briefing on Sept. 26.
Disaster declarations have been approved by the Biden administration in Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia, which are in the path of the storm system. Modeling from the NHC shows that Helene will weaken after hitting land, becoming a tropical storm somewhere over Georgia by the morning of Sept. 27 before being downgraded into a tropical depression.
“We expect life-threatening flash flooding” as the storm moves north, Criswell said, noting that people should listen to local officials for warnings.
Atlanta Gets Flash Flood Warning
More than 2 million people in Georgia, including the metropolitan Atlanta area, are under a flash flood warning as of the evening of Sept. 26, officials said.
Helene is expected to at least be a tropical storm when it reaches metro Atlanta.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp told a press conference on Sept. 26 that Georgia residents shouldn’t take the storm lightly.
“Helene is a massive storm, and we are expecting significant damage across the state,” he said. “I urge all residents to stay off the roads during and after the storm to help emergency crews clear debris and restore power.”
Asheville Area Could See Record Rain, Flooding
Record-breaking flooding is forecast in Asheville, North Carolina, the NWS’s local office said in an “urgent message” on Sept. 26 as it described the storm as “one of the most significant weather events” in the “modern era” for the city and state.
Seven inches of rain have already fallen in Asheville, while some other areas have seen even more. All of the water is flowing downhill out of the mountains.
“This next wave (of rain) is just going to be even worse because there’s nowhere for the water to be soaked up or go,” Asheville Fire Chief Michael Cayse told CNN on Sept. 26.
Heavy Rain Forecast Elsewhere
In western North Carolina and South Carolina, more than 12 inches of rain is expected in some areas, an NHC model shows. Parts of Florida, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois could see 4 to 6 inches of rain, it shows.
Specifically, over areas of the southern United States into the southern Appalachian Mountain region, Helene will produce 6 to 12 inches in rainfall with isolated amounts of 20 inches, the agency stated.
Agency forecasters warn that there is a moderate-to-high chance of flash flooding across much of the southern United States over the next three days.
“This rainfall will likely result in catastrophic and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with significant river flooding. Numerous significant landslides are expected in steep terrain across the southern Appalachians,” the NHC stated.
In Tennessee, the emergency management agency warned Helene “will ”rapidly travel to Tennessee with impacts beginning this evening to Friday morning and lasting throughout the weekend“ and that impacts include ”significant rainfall, widespread power outages, and damaging winds.”
Flood Warnings in Mountains
Emergency officials in the North Carolina mountains are warning that heavy rains before Hurricane Helene even arrives have set the stage for historic flooding.
The French Broad River and Swannanoa River, which run in and around Asheville and then south, are already predicted to break 100-year-old records from Sept. 27 into Sept. 28. The flooding could be worse than in 2004, when water rose to car rooftops in Biltmore Village just outside the gates of the historic Biltmore estate built by George Vanderbilt.
“This is a potentially historic event with catastrophic, deadly consequences. This is not a maybe. This is on track to happen. So please, please take every precaution to take yourself out of harm’s way,” Buncombe County Emergency Services Director Taylor Jones said.
A map shows where flash flooding could occur during Helene, provided on Sept. 26, 2024. The purple and red areas are where there is a 'high' and 'moderate' chance of flash flooding, respectively. (National Weather Service)
Tornadoes Anticipated
There is a chance that “several tornadoes” may appear on the evening of Sept. 26 into the morning of Sept. 27 associated with Helene, the NWS wrote on X.
The greatest threat can be anticipated in Florida, southeastern Georgia, the Midlands and Low Country regions of South Carolina, and the southern part of North Carolina, it warned.
“The greatest concern in regards to impacts associated with Hurricane Helene will be the risk for tropical tornadoes later today and tonight. Have a tornado plan in place in case a warning is issued,” wrote the NWS office in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
“The Air Force Hurricane Hunters found that the maximum sustained winds have increased to near-120 mph,” the National Hurricane Center stated in a special update released at 2:25 p.m. ET, making it a Category 3 Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.
Maximum sustained winds were only just recorded at 110 mph as of 2 p.m. ET on Sept. 26.
At that time, Helene’s center was spotted 195 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, and hurricane-force winds (74 mph and greater) were recorded 60 miles out, and tropical storm-force winds (39–73 mph) extended 345 miles out.
At the update, it was 170 miles southwest of Tampa moving north-northeast at 16 mph.
The NHC said additional strengthening was expected before it makes landfall.
Previous reports forecasted Helene to become a Category 4 storm with winds over 130 mph.
The National Hurricane Center defines a major hurricane as one that has sustained winds exceeding 110 mph.
“Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,” the National Hurricane Center warned.
Regardless of core strength, Helene’s size and outward reach of tropical storm-force winds have already put the southeast United States under threat.
Helene is expected to drop 6 to 12 inches of rain across the southeastern United States and the southern Appalachian mountains, with isolated totals reaching as much as 20 inches.
Tornado and flash flood warnings have been issued and are in effect as of 2 p.m. in inland areas across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
After landfall, Helene is expected to drop to a tropical storm as it crosses into Georgia, with winds up to 63 mph, and tropical storm-force winds extending out more than 120 miles northeast and more than 330 miles southeast.
The National Hurricane Center warned earlier of “catastrophic and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with significant river flooding.”
“Numerous landslides are expected in steep terrain across the southern Appalachians,” it added.
It also said, “Considerable to locally catastrophic flash and urban flooding” is also likely for northern and northwestern Florida and the southeast United States through Sept. 27.
North Carolina’s Gov. Roy Cooper and Georgia’s Gov. Brian Kemp echoed those warnings of flooding and landslides during respective press conferences on Sept. 26.
On the coastlines, life-threatening storm surge continues to be expected, with as much as 15–20 feet predicted for the Big Bend.
Even though Helene is still currently offshore, most of Florida’s west coast is under tropical storm conditions. Its effects are already being felt as far away as North Carolina.
All or portions of those four states also remain under either a tropical storm or hurricane warning. Portions of eastern Alabama, including Dothan and Auburn, are under tropical storm or hurricane warnings.
A state of emergency has been declared by DeSantis, Kemp, and Cooper, as well as South Carolina’s Gov. Henry McMaster.
President Joe Biden has approved disaster declarations for Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.
Graphics from the National Hurricane Center indicate that most of Florida’s peninsula is under Helene’s field of tropical storm conditions.
Sustained winds of 41 mph were recently recorded at Key West Naval Air Station, and a weather station in Tarpon Point, Florida. Wind gusts of 64 mph were recently recorded at Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, gusts of 56 mph were recently recorded in Naples, Florida, and gusts of 64 mph were recorded in Cocoa Beach.
Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed 14 tornado warnings were issued during the night as the storm’s outer bands moved across multiple southern counties, including Palm Beach and Collier counties.
Street flooding has been reported across the Tampa Bay region throughout the morning.
From the emergency operations center in Tallahassee, DeSantis told Floridians and members of the press on the morning of Sept. 26 that time was running out to evacuate and put hurricane plans into action.
“Every minute that goes by brings us closer to having conditions that are going to be simply too dangerous to navigate,” he said.
DeSantis was joined by Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Department of Emergency Management, who told residents, especially those in northern Florida surrounded by pine trees, to treat falling trees like tornado events.
“Pine tree snapping sounds an awful lot like fireworks or potentially gunshots,” he said. “So please make sure if you hear that act immediately, get to the interior portion of your home, away from glass, most likely a bathroom, and stay there until you hear that sound stop.”
Guthrie also urged those Floridians choosing to ignore evacuation orders and shelter in place to tell someone.
“Call somebody and tell them you're sheltering in place,” he said. “That way there's some type of check and balance there so that we know that you did not evacuate.
"Again, we don't want you to shelter in place, but if you decide to do that, make sure you call a friend or a loved one outside the area and let them know. But don't forget to call them after to let them know that you're safe."
